Another very good read from one of the better journos going around at the moment...

A football lesson in indigenous respect

I just read that about 10 minutes ago. Geez he is a super journalist. Very proud of our club

Great article, outstanding footy club. Leading from the front in respect for indigenous Australians. Makes me so proud to be a life-long Dees fan.

Great article, but I find it hard to believe they spelled Wonaeamirri's name as "Ossie" instead of "Aussie".

Well said once again Martin, a little disappointing we could not draft the indigenous boy the Bulldogs snared at 88. He was on our Radar big time. But he could quite easily be another LJ

I have spent time at Fitzroy Crossing. It is a truly amazing piece of Australian Red Dirt.

Full marks to the MFC and the way it is appraoching our indigenous players but I don't really agree with the premise of Martin's article (FYI, I think Martin's a very good reporter / writer)

Underlying the overwhelming negativity with which Julia Gillard's proposal has been met is a belief that nothing changes in Aboriginal Australia, or not for the better. Liam Jurrah is evidence to the contrary. LJ, as he is known to his teammates, appeared to speak no English when he arrived in the big smoke three years ago. No footballer from the desert communities had ever gone close to making it in the AFL before him. Jurrah is now an AFL star.

I don't think LJ speaking english, or becoming an AFL star, is any sign of progress in tacking the extreme disadvantage that indigenous people suffer

Ten years after Cathy Freeman captured the heart of the nation by winning Olympic gold, all we've managed to do IMHO is feel better about ourselves because we respect / praise our indigenous athletes

As Martin himself writes, on health, mortality and imprisonment rates, there's still a huge gap between white and black Australia. Sport alone is not going to bridge that divide.

I'm not sure what will

Edited November 22, 201014 yr by Grapeviney